Carney vs. Will: It's on

White House spokesman Jay Carney took a jab Monday at George Will, the conservative columnist who recently dismissed all the apocalyptic sound and fury Mr. Carney has been promoting in the last week about the impact of sequestration.

“I will do many things for my country and my profession,” Mr. Will said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” Friday. “I will not take seriously Mr. Carney.”

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It’s clear that Mr. Will hit a nerve. When asked about the comments during a Monday briefing with reporters, Mr. Carney had a ready response, at first suggesting that he has “a lot of respect” for Mr. Will, having appeared on several Sunday news show panels with him back when he was bureau chief for Time.

He then pivoted sharply, criticizing both Mr. Will’s syntax and his argument.

“I love the structure of the sentence — it’s George Will-ian,” Mr. Carney said to chuckles.

Mr. Carney then suggested that the columnist is the one that shouldn’t be taken seriously because he predicted that Mitt Romney would win the presidential election and would take Minnesota in a landslide the Sunday before the 2012 presidential election. Mr. Obama eventually carried Minnesota by a comfortable margin.

In a mocking tone, Mr. Carney then said he “will continue to take George Will seriously.”

Question of the Day

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About the Author

Susan Crabtree is an award-winning investigative reporter with more than 15 years of reporting experience in Washington, D.C. Her reporting about bribery, corruption and conflict-of-interest issues on Capitol Hill has led to several FBI and ethics investigations, as well as consequences for members within their caucuses and at the ballot box. Susan can be reached at scrabtree@washingtontimes.com.